Happy Holidays! On the evening of December 21st, 2018; Veil Of Maya hosted and celebrated a hometown holiday show at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago, IL. #IllinoisMetal guests included: VCTMS, El Famous, Deville, and The Levitated.

Think about May 5th, 2009, and how old you were at that time. Think about how in things were life and how music was during that era. On that exact date after their 2008 Warped Tour appearance, The Devil Wears Prada graced the music industry with their third studio album ‘With Roots Above and Branches Below’ [2009]. Years later, they give us a taste of those times again with giving their fans a 10 Year Anniversary Tour with guests ’68 and Fit For A King. Check out below to view how these bands brought down Bottom Lounge in Chicago, Illinois on Nov. 23, 2018!

As the smashing duo ’68 took the stage, they were exactly what Chicago needed to start off the night. Josh Scogin (Guitar and Vocals) and Nikko Yamada (Drums) are truly something special to see due to their high energy performance and intense Punk Rock style. Seeing this type of Punk Rock is rare now a days and these boys pull it off to perfection. Seeing the ’68 live, you can expect an experience close to what the grunge scene was like in the 1990’s, which is a compact crowd, loud, things getting tossed on stage, and a set that allows the crowd to give them energy to feed off of. ’68 tours frequently, so see if this duo will be near you anytime soon!

​As’68 finished up rocking their set, Fit For A King controlled Bottom Lounge as they wasted no time with coming out to “The Price Of Agony”. They gave Chicago a bit of everything including songs of their smashing new album ‘Dark Skies’ that was released September 14, 2018. Jared Easterling (Drums, Backing Vocals), Ryan Kirby (Lead Vocals), Ryan O'Leary (Bass), and Daniel Gailey (Lead Guitars, Backing Vocals) are a group of guys that you must see, due to the fact how much in sync they are with each other at all times.

Because of that, they produce such a live powerful sound that gets the crowd going from start to finish. After the show we met with Vocalist Ryan Kirby and he stated, “We couldn’t be happier on how you guys all reacted to Dark Skies and the support that you all give to us.” If you want to see for yourself what we are talking about, you are in luck! Fit For A King will be touring early 2019 in the United States with August Burns Red and Miss May I and also in Europe in April 2019 with headliners Emmure! Dates and venues have been released for both tours!

As the lights cut out and the intro music came in, it was time for the moment we all waited for! The Devil Wears Prada took over Chicago as they played their hit third studio album ‘With Roots Above and Branches Below’ in its entirety. Knowing the fact that this album was released ten years ago, we can assure you that Jeremy DePoyster (Rhythm Guitar, Vocals), Mike Hranica (Lead Vocals), Andy Trick (Bass), Kyle Sipress (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals), Jonathan Gering (Keyboards), and Giuseppe Capolupo (Drums) aged well, due to their sound and performance being flawless as ever. The Devil Wears Prada came out with ‘With Roots Above and Branches Below’ in 2009 after their killer appearance at Warped Tour in 2008.

They stated how they wanted this record to be their most epic on, so that it would reflect in their shows and we can assure you years later it is still amazing. The whole album is honestly one big epic rollercoaster ranging from its insane songs like “Danger: Wildman” to “I Hate Buffering” to its more melodic songs like “Louder Than Thunder.” Due to that, you can only imagine how it was live at a loud compact venue like Bottom Lounge in Chicago. ‘With Roots Above and Branches Below’, at the time, served as a gateway into that genre as a whole for that generation and it truly showed based on its younger crowd. Due to that, it served as a special night as it allowed those fans relive their memories from 2009.

For a Sunday night show, there was certainly no shortage of late night rockers ready to stay all night. The Sylvee, a newer theater in Madison, WI, was packed wall to wall, top to bottom. Nothing More on December 02, 2018 - A show that had originally been booked at the Majestic Theater, this performance was later moved to The Sylvee in order to open up more ticket opportunities - a move that certainly did not disappoint.

Fans were welcomed to the show with opening performances by Burden of the Sky, followed by Greyhaven. As more and more people trickled in, they were greeted by the heightened energy filling the venue and setting the stage for the evening.

Next to the stage was Palisades, revving up the tempo to yet another level. This high paced energy was matched with equally passionate ballads accompanied with lighting from the crowd itself.

Then came the long awaited moment - Nothing More broke out from the shadows with a thundering sound. The crowd held a relentless energy as a combination of recent hits and throwback songs were scattered throughout the set. Apart from a heartfelt acoustic performance mid-set, the upbeat tempo never ceased for more than a moment before rising up again.

Catch Nothing More on this tour as it continues into early spring! Click the button below for dates and info:

[10.21.18] As Light The Torch and Avatar wrapped up their sets at the sold-out House Of Blues in Chicago, Illinois it was time for the mighty Trivium to take the stage. For part one of this editorial visit the link here; continue below to part two.

Wasting no time,Triviumwent straight into their heavy material, which implanted in the crowd’s head that we were in for an amazing set. Rockstar’s Matthew Heafy (Lead Vocals, Guitar), Corey Beaulieu (Backing Vocals, Guitar), Alex Bent (Drums), Paolo Gregoletto (Bass), and appearance by Jared Dines (Guitar) were honestly a site to see together as they rocked Chicago with their talent that goes unmatched.​Trivium gave Chicago a little bit of everything from their new material all the way through their productions from the beginning. Lead Vocalist, Matt Heafy, recognizably sounded unflawed, which was amazing to see due to his vocal injury he endured not too long ago. With this tour having an insane amount of experienced musicians and vocalists, it was awesome to see Trivium close out the show with Lead Vocalist, Howard Jones, joining them on stage giving the perfectending to an unforgettable night.

Before Trivium took the stage though and crushed it at the House Of Blues Chicago, we had the honor of meeting and interviewing guitaristCorey Beaulieu! Check out below to see what Corey had to say!

HeadRushTv - You guys are kind of in the final stretch of this tour withAvatar andLight The Torch! How has this tour been so far with these bands and as a whole?

Corey Beaulieu – Its been pretty awesome. It’s been a really cool lineup and all these shows on this tour, it’s our first time in a couple years we have done a U.S. headlining tour. Our previous tour was with Arch Enemy and we were co-headlining. So this tour, all the cities its nice coming back to cause we played at them a year ago, but there are some cities we haven’t played in a while so its cool to see people and be at the different festivals like Rock On The Range and Carolina Rebellion. Its been really great and I’m sure tonight (Chicago) will be another crazy one. Chicago has always been one of our best cities in America cause last couple of times we have been here it sold out very quickly. Chicago definitely kills it.

HeadRushTv - It is well known that you guys are constantly rocking out and busy with your tour going on and performing at festivals! How do you guys do it?! And what is the transition like from performing on tour and then being in the lineup at a festival?

Corey Beaulieu – We have really good management that knows what they are doing and all the people on our team are long term thinkers and know how to grow and develop more and what we need to do and who we need to get in front of. So its like getting out and doing our own headlining tour and then doing festivals cause you’re always in this process of trying to get in front of new people to grow your fan-base.

​Then there’s like every time we play a festival somewhere whether it be in Europe or somewhere else, there’s always a new generation of music fans that are going like Download Festival or Rock On The Range for the first time and seeing bands they don’t know so you’re always trying to get to those new people and more people at those festivals cause we have done them three or four times now and its finally like we’ve been there enough times so its cool seeing our strategy really paying off that we started a couple years ago.

It was amazing seeing more people coming in at the festivals slowly over time. We could honestly say the past five years have been a growth process with getting our name from not just being a Metal band, but a Metal band that can cross over into the Rock oriented stuff. Hopefully we could open people’s ears and eyes and introduce them to this amazing music that doesn’t get played on the active Rock radio. We really wanted to make more metalheads out of the rockers and truly be that transition band.

HeadRushTv - So as of yesterday, its officially the one-year anniversary of the album The Sin and The Sentence. What was the making of that album like and what truly inspired the process of that album?

Corey Beaulieu – We kind of just knew after the past couple of records we dabbled into something and we went towards a sound/record being geared toward a different direction. We were talking while on tour and we wanted things to be done darker, hookier, angrier, and bring back more of the aggression that the early records had, but keep the melodic approach that we developed on the previous two albums. So its basically just us doing what we wanted to play, like we wanted to play heavier shit, so we did and then also more flash and intricate stuff. In the end it was us doing what we felt was the best direction we needed to go in and also the direction that we felt inspired to do and write cause the previous record had no screaming due to Matt Heafy’s voice injury so we had to develop a record to make sense with all vocals so it wasn’t that intense as the new album is.

​We kind of just got rid of everybody like the producer. We were writing songs to block everything out, so it was just the four of us making a really fun record cause that’s basically all the records that fans hold as their favorite, where all of us are just playing what we enjoy. We basically weren’t back to that mentality and there were a lot of people trying to tell us what to do and we said no, and it worked out cause we rode out our gut feeling on every decision. Its crazy how it shows at the venues cause songs off the new album when we play them go harder and crazier than our old stuff that as been out longer. Its very cool to see these fans and their responses. Especially the ones coming back to see us and the new fans that bring the energy and have a good time.

​HeadRushTv - For the albumThe Sin and The Sentence, you guys went back to your deep and heavy sound which fits you guys so well! While on tour what are your favorite songs to perform off the album and why?

Corey Beaulieu - Honestly all of the are fun to play. I think they’re really fun to play live cause we rehearsed them that exact way. A lot of times, you write songs and then kind of start doing he final touches on vocals in the studio, but this time we really wanted to make sure everything was done before we started recording. So we played everything and did all the vocals, made sure they made sense with he guitar parts so everything we play live is just very comfortable and easy to play. It feels like we have been playing it for ten years instead of one year. But all of them are cool cause "Beyond Oblivion" and The Sin and The Sentence are really fun. Also, "Heart From The Hate" is really fun cause its very crowd singalong. "Sever The Hand" is really fun cause the whole middle section of the crowd goes crazy, so yeah we try to have a balance of songs from the record and feel out the ones that the fans rock out to live so its been fun. A lot of those songs we haven’t played in America until this tour, so its cool to mix it up.

HeadRushTv - So speaking of songs off the album, you guys just released a music video a couple weeks ago for the song "The Wretchedness Inside" which we all viewed! How was the filming for that video like and where was it filmed at?

Corey Beaulieu – We were actually in Germany headlining a festival and we had a guy taping. It was last minute cause we were flying over to do this festival and we were doing rehearsals and we were like well lets have this guy come out and film some stuff so we got some footage and it was such an easy way to do a video cause he was going to record the show anyways. We already had all this stuff as well to make a really cool visual music video that we didn’t really need to put much time into. We also knew ahead of time so that’s why there are certain shots that we got along with shots of the actual show.

HeadRushTv - Getting a bit off topic here and a bit on the personal side, as an amazing artist and musician like yourself who inspired you to get to this level and point you’re at in your career?

Corey Beaulieu – My gateway into music was Guns N Roses so Slash was obviously my first guitar hero that got me into guitar and then Metallica. They were the first couple of bands that I started playing that were the big ones. Also, like Megadeth, Slayer, Iced Earth, Iron Maiden and then a whole slew of Testament and guitar players like George Lynch so those were some of my favorite bands and guitarists still to this day. My favorites are the ones that helped me discover the whole process of playing and learning guitar and what I like to hear. So yeah it’s the ones you grow up listening to that helps you form into the musician you want to be.

​HeadRushTv - So on an ending point, for all the local bands out there or beginning artists or bands that are still playing in their garages or homes, as a successful artist what is the best advice you could give to those people that are going to be reading this?

Corey Beaulieu – Well practice is obviously a big part of it. But also just trying to find your own kind of uniqueness and sound. There are a million bands out there now a days and there are a million bands that could record themselves in their home and stream and do the online stuff like put your album up. To get the recognition and to get signed or to be picked up by a label, you have to have something that is going to stand out and has a unique sound. You need to find what it is about your song writing and creativity that’s going to make you stand out from the hundred bands that are all trying to sound the same. So you have to stand out and have something that’s going to perk people’s ears. Use your favorite bands as inspiration, but try no to copy them or follow it too hard. I call it 'Frankenstein-ing' ideas cause I might get an idea for a solo or like I’m writing something where I know exactly where it came from, but you manipulate it and put your own creativity on it that someone else who hears goes, “Wow, that’s a cool riff” and they don’t even know it was from another bands song. Get the inspiration, but then find a way to mess with it and change it while adding to it. That inspiration then turns to originality, so yeah some bands can instantly find the chemistry and find what’s really unique about them and with some bands it takes trial and error. Just have a vision of what you want your band to be and just keep working until you got your sound.

Announced Fall of 2018, from Sept. 21st to Nov. 11th; Cane Hill embarked on their first-ever headline North American tour with guests Sharptooth and Afterlife.

On October 13th, the metal tour stormed the Beat Kitchen in Chicago; Illinois locals El Famousopened the night. Justice, self-empowerment and community are ardent themes of choice for the line-up. In honor of the action, courage and integrity they shared; we dedicated a segment to each band on the tour.

Cane Hill originate from New Orleans, LA; which is where they chose to conclude their Fall 2018 tour. Watch below! Our exclusive interview with Elijah Witt, vocalist, also features live-concert footage of the band's Illinois tour performance at the Beat Kitchen on October 13th, 2018.

Introducing further members of the ensemble, there is Elijah James Barnett (guitar, back-up vocals), Ryan Henriquez (bass, back-up vocals), and Devin Clark (drums). ​

Expressing the inspiration behind their art; Slayer, Metallica, hallucinogenics, metaphysics, politics, self-empowerment, history and social justice reform each had a chapter in the open and honest conversation. The video includes a candid film of Sharptooth encouraging discourse as Witt describes activism on stage.

In anticipation, the band shared [two] music videos for the new tracks: "Kill The Sun" (11.15.18) and "Acid Rain" (12.13.18).

The band commented on the new EP, "We've been in the studio with the incredibly talented Kris Crummett, working on music - It's six songs of dark, twisted, and semi-acoustic beauty. We're incredibly proud of it and can't wait for you to hear it."

Written in their artist bio, the "unapologetically enraged" band focusing on "the brutality of hardcore through a femme lens," and believe in "carving out space for marginalized voices in aggressive music." Pioneering social-justice revolution in the metal scene; Sept. of 2017 they joined Pure Noise Records.

Cane Hill updated their agenda for 2019 with this message: "Next year we kick off touring with absolute legends. Catch us with Sevendust +Tremonti + Lullwater & Kirra." The full tour dates are below; otherwise visit: www.wearecanehill.com.

An emotional roller coaster would be the best way to describe the event that occurred at the House of Blues in Boston, MA on October 2nd , 2018.

With much anticipation, the Gravity Tour stopped in Boston, MA bringing Bad Omens, We Came As Romans and Bullet For My Valentine to Landsown Street. Each band brought its own unique flavor of metal to the stage. Bullet for my Valentine and We Came as Romans have frequently visited the House of Blues in Boston however this was Bad Omens’ first time playing across the street from Fenway Park. And although each band’s fans associated themselves which each creative group that night, there was a unique feeling inside the venue.

Prior to the start of the Gravity Tour, We Came as Roman’s lead vocalist Kyle Pavone suddenly passed away on August 25th , 2018. With many questions up in the air, many We Came as Romans fans were unsure if the band would continue without Kyle. To everyone’s surprise, they decided to dedicate this tour run to Kyle and his family and decided to keep their commitment to the Gravity Tour.

Before we get to WCAR and Bullet,Bad Omenstook center stage to kick off the night. With Bad Omens breaking into the scene in 2014, there has been an overwhelming response to their music, internationally. With a similar sound and tone to “early Bring me the Horizon,” their popular tracks such as “Glass Houses” and “Exit Wounds” off their self-titled album Bad Omens (2016) really resonated with the Boston crowd. Noah Sebastion (lead vocalist) certainly flexed his vocal range during their performance. Alongside an impressive light display, Bad Omens will soon be a forced to be reckoned with. Give them some more time, shows, festivals and albums and these LA rockers will be making moves.

​With the passing of their lead singer Kyle Pavone,We Came As Romansdecided to carry on with the Gravity Tour. Some saw this as a move made too soon.

To We Came as Romans, this seemed to be the best way to remember Kyle.

To help their fans mourn and remember Kyle’s life as nothing but amazing.

With such a distinct voice, placing the responsibility to sing Kyle’s parts would be an incredible task to ask of anyone.

Lead vocalist, Dave Stephens, took this responsibility on for himself. And if you closed your eyes and listened, you could barely notice Kyle’s absence. The energy weaving throughout the crowd was filled with tears, smiles and harmonizing choruses. Not a note was missed. And with the help from each crying voice, Kyle’s passion was felt. Dave Stephens then took a moment at the end of their set to talk about the Kyle Pavone foundation they had set up to support Kyle’s family while thanking the crowd and show his appreciation.

Taking a mental breather, Boston prepared for a momentum switch beforeBullet For My Valentinecame out. Touring their latest album Gravity (2018), there was great anticipation to see what would be played and what wouldn’t (with regards to their older songs). Right out the gate, “Don’t Need You” off Gravity (2018) broke the metaphorical ice with a gloomy and eerie instrumental backtrack-intro.

This lifted the spirits of those watching, quickly. But such is the case with every band who has been around for quite some time, you will find yourself amongst a group of those who “want the old stuff.” Knowing this, BFMV did not disappoint.

Concluding the set, Bullet went back-to-back-to-back-to-back with older tracks off of The Poison (2007) and Scream Aim Fire (2008). Have you ever seen an entire general admission section turn into a circle pit before? Go to a Bullet for my Valentine show and stay until “Waking the Demon” off Scream Aim Fire (2008) rips.

Events occur in life that leave many with unanswered questions. These events may be heartbreaking or filled with joy. Regardless, everyone needs something in life that brings happiness. Or at the very least, a momentary distraction from negativity. What was seen at the House of Blues on October 2nd , 2018 was
just that. A momentary distraction from grief.

​Music has been told to be one of the, if not the strongest universal language in the world. The amount of support felt in Boston, MA for We Came As Romans was nothing short of romantic. Music is romantic. And to have bands surrounding you like Bad Omens and Bullet For My Valentine, one could assume it helps make grieving a little less miserable.

Go to concerts. Escape reality for a couple hours. Cry with strangers. Lose your voice. Remember those who couldn’t have joined you but also live in the moment. Music glues a broken heart back together.

As Good Charlotte’s Generation Rx Tour comes to an end, we were fortunate enough to recently catch this tour at the Riviera Theatre on November 4th, 2018with special guests The Dose, Knuckle Puck, and Sleeping With Sirens. This show was surely one to remember due to the perfect build up each band produced leading into Good Charlotte's set.

The dynamic duo, Indio Downey (Vocals, Guitar] and Ralph Alexander (Drums, Bass), The Dose started off the night right as they hit the Chicago with their hard style grunge-ish sound. The Dose is definitely a band you do not want to sleep on as they know how to get crowd going! If you are unfamiliar with The Dose, check out their new music videos above and below!

​As The Dose wrapped up their set, punk-rock stars Knuckle Puck took the stage. With it being Knuckle Puck’s hometown show in Chicago, they gave us their best set hitting the crowd with their chart-topping hits and punk attitude. Joe Taylor (Lead Vocals), Kevin Maida (Lead Guitar), John Siorek (Drums), Nick Casasanto (Rhythm Guitar) and Ryan Rumchaks (Bass) collaborate to perfection, which lead to the Riviera Theatre turning into like a day at Warped Tour! Check out their videos below to see how their high energy can light up any venue.

With Knuckle Puck wrapping up their special home town set, the transition was perfect as the night lead us to Sleeping With Sirens. Being our first time covering this band, we were nothingbut impressed. Band members Kellin Quinn (Lead Vocals), Gabe Barham (Drums), Justin Hills (Bass), Jack Fowler (Lead Guitar) and Nick Martin (Rhythm Guitar) have all been playing together for about six years now and it shows during their performance.

They go off of each other’s strengths extremely well live, which results in an unforgettable show. Lead vocalist, Kellin Quinn, is quite an artist to witness as his vocals will blow everyone away as the set continues. In addition, their set is the perfect combination of songs that gives their fans everything they could ever want. Check above to see how these guys rocked Chicago!

As Sleeping With Sirens finished with their set, the anticipation in the Riviera Theatre was at an all time high as everyone couldn’t wait to see the boys of Good Charlotte. It is known that Good Charlotte hasn’t toured in a while, leaving the 1990 and early 2000 kids with only a dream that someday Good Charlotte will be at a venue near them.

Well, for the fans in Chicago that day was the day it all came true as Good Charlotte took the stage and wasted no time going into their new album, Generation Rx, as they dropped their hit “Self Help”. From the very first song till the final encore Good Charlotte had the venue going crazy as they took us down a trip down memory lane.

​One of the things that they do very well, is before each song they announce the year it was released, and they ask the crowd one simple question, “Where do you picture yourself when you first heard this song that year?” The Madden brothers, Benji and Joel, allow the crowd to live fully in the moment while allowing the crowd to think back on the good times they had when they first heard the songs like: "The Anthem" (2002), "The River" (2007), "Girls; Boys" (2002), "Lifestyles of the Rich; Famous" (2002), "Little Things" (2000), "Hold On" (2002) and many more!

Joining the brothers Benji and Joel are their band of rockstars Paul Thomas (Bass), Billy Martin (Guitars) and Dean Butterworth (Drums) who all contribute to the party as they are all artists that are a must see as well, due to them being in Good Charlottesince the 1990’s except for Dean who joined in 2005.

If there is one thing that we are telling you from this, its that Good Charlotte is a must see live and that any chance that you can see them take it! Fortunately, as Good Charlotte explained after the show, Benji and Joel stated, “We have something big that’s planned for 2019 so just be ready!” Could this possibly be another tour!? Keep Good Charlotte on your radar and hopefully we will find out very soon!